Harmony of the Seas Marks 10 Years in Royal Caribbean Service
Harmony debuted Ultimate Abyss, a ten-deck slide billed at launch as the tallest at sea, and The Perfect Storm, later added to other Royal Caribbean ships.
Harmony of the Seas has completed 10 years in Royal Caribbean International service after its May 12, 2016 delivery. The Oasis-class ship is sailing in Europe after a Spanish drydock and is scheduled to reposition to Port Canaveral in late July. The roughly 227,000-gross-ton vessel will move into year-round Central Florida service following its first European program in five years.
The ship was the third in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class and the first in that class to open its career in Europe. It also introduced several onboard features for the line, including Royal Caribbean’s first newbuild waterslides.
A 2016 newbuild with several Royal Caribbean firsts
Harmony of the Seas was built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, which was operating at the time as STX France. The 1,188-foot ship spans 18 decks and was delivered as a slightly larger follow-on to Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
The ship entered service with the Ultimate Abyss, a 10-deck slide billed at launch as the tallest at sea. Harmony of the Seas also introduced The Perfect Storm, a trio of waterslides that Royal Caribbean later added to other ships in its fleet.
After delivery, the 5,558-passenger ship spent its first season in the Western Mediterranean, sailing seven-night itineraries from Barcelona and Civitavecchia to ports in Spain, France and Italy. In November 2016, it repositioned to North America for year-round Port Everglades service.
European return follows Royal Amplified drydock
Harmony of the Seas returned to Europe earlier this year for a spring Western Mediterranean deployment. The season followed a Royal Amplified refurbishment at Navantia in Spain.
The drydock included updates to existing public areas, the creation of new venues and the addition of more than 100 staterooms. Royal Caribbean’s broader Royal Amplified program began in 2018 and was paused during the pandemic because of shipyard closures. It resumed in 2025 with Allure of the Seas.
The ship’s current European deployment is scheduled to continue through late July. Its next assignment is a repositioning voyage to Port Canaveral, where Royal Caribbean has the ship slated for year-round cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas ranging from two to nine nights.
See current Harmony of the Seas fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
